{"id":661742,"date":"2026-01-07T18:13:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/661742\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T18:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:13:17","slug":"which-former-iowa-football-players-are-in-the-nfl-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/661742\/","title":{"rendered":"Which former Iowa football players are in the NFL Playoffs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the NFL’s regular season wrapped up, it’s now time for one of the most grueling postseason tournaments in American sports.<\/p>\n

The NFL playoffs up the intensity from the regular season, as, unlike other leagues, every single game is an elimination game. Every game is for all the marbles. That can lead to some of the best and most exciting games all season. And there’s going to be plenty of former Iowa<\/a> football players looking to etch their name into history.<\/p>\n

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15 former Hawkeyes<\/a> find themselves on NFL Playoff rosters, with many of them set to see the field this weekend. Every single Wild Card matchup features at least one former Hawkeye, except for the Patriots<\/a> and Chargers<\/a> game. Here’s which former Hawks are in the NFL Playoffs, and when you can watch them play during the upcoming Wild Card weekend.<\/p>\n

Former Hawks with a first-round bye\"Jan<\/p>\n

Jan 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss (21) smiles after winning the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Seattle Seahawks<\/a> and the Denver Broncos<\/a> got the one seed in their respective conferences, meaning these former Hawks will get the weekend off to prepare for the Divisional Round:<\/p>\n

Seattle Seahawks: guard Mason Richman<\/p>\n

Denver Broncos: cornerback Riley Moss<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills vs Jacksonville Jaguars\"Jan<\/p>\n

Jan 4, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) scrambles with the ball under pressure from Buffalo Bills defensive end AJ Epenesa (57) during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Bills<\/a> will travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars<\/a> on Sunday, January 11, at noon CST. The game can be seen on CBS. One former Hawk will take the field in Jacksonville:<\/p>\n

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Jacksonville Jaguars: None<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills: defensive end AJ Epenesa<\/p>\n

Houston Texans vs Pittsburgh Steelers\"Nov<\/p>\n

Nov 23, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Yahya Black (94) reacts after a fumble recovery against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Texans<\/a> will head up north to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers<\/a> in primetime. This will be the final game of the weekend, taking place on Monday, January 12, at 7:15 p.m. CST. Fans can check out the game on ESPN. The following former Hawks will take the field at Acrisure Stadium:<\/p>\n

Houston Texans: safety Kaevon Merriweather<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Steelers: defensive end Yahya Black, safety Sebastian Castro, running back Kaleb Johnson, defensive tackle Logan Lee<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams vs Carolina Panthers\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 7, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson (77) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Rams<\/a> will kick off Wild Card weekend when they travel across the country to face the Carolina Panthers<\/a>. The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. CST on Saturday, January 10, and fans can watch on FOX. These former Hawks will be in action:<\/p>\n

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Carolina Panthers: None<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams: offensive tackle Alaric Jackson, defensive end Jack Heflin<\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers vs Chicago Bears\"Oct<\/p>\n

Oct 19, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears punter Tory Taylor (19) on the sidelines against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Packers<\/a> will reignite an age-old rivalry when they travel to the Windy City to take on the Bears<\/a>. The game will start at 7 p.m. CST on Saturday, January 10, and can be seen on Amazon Prime Video. The following Hawks will be in action:<\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers: defensive end Lukas Van Ness<\/p>\n

Chicago Bears: punter Tory Taylor<\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper Dejean (33) and head coach Nick Sirianni celebrate on the sideline after an interception during the third quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

In maybe the best matchup of the weekend, the 49ers<\/a> will travel to Philadelphia to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles<\/a>. The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. CST on Sunday, January 11, and can be seen on FOX. The following former Hawks will see the field:<\/p>\n

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San Francisco 49ers: guard Connor Colby, tight end George Kittle<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Eagles: cornerback Cooper DeJean<\/p>\n

Contact\/Follow us\u00a0@HawkeyesWire<\/a>\u00a0on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa<\/a> news, notes and opinions.\u00a0Follow Zach on X:\u00a0@zach_hiney<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Which former Iowa football players are in the NFL Playoffs?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the NFL’s regular season wrapped up, it’s now time for one of the most grueling postseason tournaments…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[220,6994,53,260,241,391,3502,1171,258,7,6066,345,8847,253,4440,125,13237,274,7788,3998,3209,6,84,208,242,57,424,1514,261,4068,1474,95037,2085],"class_list":["post-661742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl-playoffs","tag-49ers","tag-alaric-jackson","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-chargers","tag-chicago-bears","tag-connor-colby","tag-cooper-dejean","tag-denver-broncos","tag-football","tag-george-kittle","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-hawks","tag-houston-texans","tag-jack","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-kaevon-merriweather","tag-kaleb-johnson","tag-logan","tag-lukas-van-ness","tag-mason-richman","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-playoffs","tag-patriots","tag-philadelphia","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-rams","tag-riley-moss","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-sebastian-castro","tag-tory-taylor","tag-wild-card-weekend","tag-yahya-black"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}